


let me sweep you off your feet

by dejakyu (dietsoba)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Domestic Fluff, Folklore, M/M, Magical Realism, Smut, interesting brooms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 02:27:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20382154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dietsoba/pseuds/dejakyu
Summary: Chanyeol knows that he's a messy guy and just forgets to do a monthly clean up so he doesn't know why his figurines are not dusty, his books arranged in alphabetical order, and his clothes folded neatly. Does he have a roommate that he can't see or are his friends playing a prank on him?





	let me sweep you off your feet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paltandsepper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paltandsepper/gifts).

> To the recipient: I have no idea if this was the sort of thing you were looking for, but “fairy” Minseok was too good of an idea to pass up. This is very loosely based on korean folklore surrounding actual dokkaebi as well as several other similar spirit types from other cultures that I repurposed for my own usage. I really hope you enjoy!!
> 
> A humongous thank you to the mod of this fest for being so understanding and giving me so much leeway. Thanks also to the EBB GC for giving me the final push to do this, and to S for reading it over. IT'S DONE ;-;

Chanyeol heaved the last of his boxes out of his beat-up, old car, through the winding Seoul alley, and up a set of rickety, iron stairs that led to his new home. He fumbled with his keys to unlock the metal door that was coated with so much rust it was nearly impossible to open. It took considerable effort to even get the key into the hole. He’d have to fix that at some point, that and the screeching the door made at the slightest movement, but it would have to wait until he had the cash. He was just glad he had a door to fix in the first place.

Chanyeol’s new place was surprisingly large for a city apartment, especially for the rent he was paying. He had enough room for his instruments, his second-collection of furniture, and a full bathroom. Sure, it lacked air conditioning and central heating, which would make the hot summers and cold winters unbearable, but he was nothing if not durable–for the most part. And sure, it was also terribly difficult to access, being on the fourth floor of an ancient building, accessible only by an external metal staircase that he was too tall for but, to Chanyeol, none of that mattered. Since money and time were everything in this economy, this was his best option if he wanted to live near the school where he worked on a dime.

Chanyeol felt extremely satisfied kicking the door behind him, now that he was fully moved in, even if all of his worldly possessions were still in boxes. This, of course, was no thanks to Sehun, who was sitting on Chanyeol’s couch playing with the PS4 he had helped to set up; he knew he should have waited until Jongdae had the time to help. The entire process of finally moving into his own place was exciting and he had been cheerful about the entire process until he realized he would have to unpack all of his worldly possessions without help. Sehun was kicked out soon after.

Alone, he was left to think about the one thing that had truly given him pause about renting this place; the fact that it was allegedly haunted. The previous owner of the apartment, a retired fortune teller, had a lot to say about the spirits that supposedly occupied the space, and Chanyeol was very much not pleased to heart any of it. If Jongdae hadn’t managed to convince him otherwise, he would have probably walked out of the deal right there. He sincerely hoped Jongdae was right, or he might not have a friend named Jongdae for much longer.

Despite his initial plans to unpack, it wasn’t until he’d been living there for two weeks that he finally opened all of his boxes and actually moved in, rather than living out of the three he was sure had the things he needed. This, of course, was mostly due to Jongdae’s nagging and Kyungsoo’s refusal to come over until he could actually sit on the sofa without Chanyeol having to clear all of the boxes sitting on it.

As he put things away, he noticed that there were a few things left from the building’s previous owner. They weren’t anything big, just a few extra cooking utensils and outdoor tools in a closet by the door, probably to clear off the stairs in the winter and fall. Some of them were so old it looked as if they had been there for decades but, despite their age, they were all in near-perfect condition. Since he didn’t have the money to buy new ones, he thought of it as some kind of gift from above towards his poor bank account.

–

Chanyeol’s clean, somewhat organized apartment didn't take long to descend into chaos again once the school year began and work started. When his chaotic daily schedule took over, Chanyeol simply didn’t have the time to clean. With his job as a primary school music teacher and his part-time job at the local bowling alley for extra cash, he was on the go all the time. He was also the kind of person that had an easier time finding things when they were all scattered about on the floor, where they were easier to see; he didn’t mind tripping over things all the time, if it reminded him where they were.

At least, his apartment  _ should  _ have been thrown into chaos by the time work started up, but that wasn’t the case. By some strange miracle, it remained remarkably clean and organized no matter how neglectful he was. He never had to look particularly hard for anything, it was always there when he needed it. All of his things seemed to float off the floor and out of the way, piles of dishes disappeared overnight, and he never reached down to his final pair of underwear, realizing with dread that he needed to do laundry. Chanyeol was so busy that he didn't notice something strange was going on until he needed some music books in order to plan his next lesson and headed over to his huge bookshelf to select the ones he needed.

When he moved in, Chanyeol had been too exhausted to organize all of his books and figurines and had shoved them all onto his shelves haphazardly wherever they fit. Now, he stared at shelves full of books that had been neatly arranged in alphabetical order, not a thing out of place. Even his figurines had been arranged carefully on the top shelf, completely dust-free. He was able to find what he needed in mere seconds and he was able to pull it from the shelf without causing a mess.

With the books he needed in hand, Chanyeol scanned the shelves once more, wondering who had organized them and why. He refused to entertain the idea that it might have been some kind of ghost or otherworldly thing. The last time he jumped to that conclusion it had involved mistaking the wailing of his neighbour as some kind of banshee, when she was just trying to sing. That had involved a lot of awkward apologies he wasn’t planning to do again.

Chanyeol eventually concluded that it was probably one of his friends and definitely not ghosts. Jongdae had been nagging Chanyeol to clean for weeks, so Chanyeol wouldn’t put it past him to go ahead and clean it himself. Chanyeol made the decision to ask him later and not worry about it for now. He had work to do and decided to occupy his mind with that.

–

“Why would I clean you apartment?” Jongdae said, eyebrow raised. “I might think your house is usually a pigsty, but I’m not about to clean your messes for you.”

“If it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Chanyeol said emphatically, taking another sip of his beer.

“Maybe that old lady from downstairs–the one who always brings you kimchi–did it. She’s very nice,” Kyungsoo said from beside Jongdae.

Chanyeol sighed. “No, her hips aren't good, so she can’t climb the stairs. I’ve been carrying her groceries up the stairs every week.”

Chanyeol was squeezed into a booth with Jongdae, Sehun, and Kyungsoo at a nearby bar, trying to explain the inexplicable organization of his belongings and figure out who was behind it. If it was only the bookshelf he would have let it slide, but one morning he opened his underwear drawer to find it organized by colour. His nearly-empty bottle of lube had even been replaced with a full one and his secret dildo had obviously been washed. He wasn’t mortified per say, but who went around washing other peoples’ dildos unprompted?

Sehun made a disgusted face. “No way would anyone go near your underwear drawer Chanyeol. Not even a ghost.”

“There are no ghosts in my apartment,” Chanyeol's said emphatically. “And my underwear is perfectly clean, I am fully capable of doing laundry,” Chanyeol said with a frown.

Kyungsoo gave him a sceptical look, so he added, “I might keep my stuff in piles but they’re  _ organized _ piles. The dirty pile gets moved to the clean one once it has been clean.”

Kyungsoo didn’t seem quite satisfied and Sehun only shrugged, so Chanyeol changed the subject. He refused to entertain the possibility that there was some sort of supernatural force at work. However, the idea was already in his head and he couldn't help but think about it every time something strange happened.

–

By the time March finally came around, the air was still cold and crisp, and he had been living in his apartment for six months. Without heat, he was forced to heave the metal door open and closed whenever he returned home, so he didn’t let out any more warmth than necessary. After the exertion, he would drop his bag filled with his bowling gear, school supplies, and other miscellaneous goods because he couldn’t be bothered to separate them all, and ventured further inside to turn on his portable heater as quickly as possible.

Chanyeol had spent the winter wearing several layers of clothing and spending too long in the bath just to stay warm. Despite all of that, he was still cold. Though, more than cold, Chanyeol was tired. He was tired of work, where he was stuck waxing the floors and cleaning bowling balls in exchange for a little time at the alley by himself. Tired of planning lessons, despite loving his students dearly. He was tired of life, which was hard when you had almost no money. He was also tired of the cold.

One particularly cold March evening, he flopped down on the couch and buried himself under a blanket. He vaguely noted that the socks he had strewn on the ground the day before were gone and felt gratitude towards whatever force had saved him from such menial tasks in his misery. He sniffled, allowing himself a few more moments of self pity before he got up again. Between his trips on the subway and spending time with large groups of children, Chanyeol had somehow come down with a cold. Colds meant days off, less money, less work, and feeling terrible.

Knowing he should probably eat something and take some meds to nip his cold in the bud, he wandered to his miserable excuse of a kitchen; which was so out of date he was surprised the appliances still worked. He turned on the stove carefully to make some porridge, pushing aside the pile of dirty dishes already there from the small space of time he had between his teaching job and the job at the bowling alley. He had one clean dish left and a relatively clean pot that would have to do. He was grateful that, come tomorrow, they would all be clean.

Chenyeol had long stopped questioning any of the mysterious cleanliness of his apartment and had started appreciating whoever or whatever was responsible for it. He had even taken to leaving out food or beer–whatever disappeared the fastest–as thanks for their work. He tried not to be alarmed when they were all consumed come morning, and just feel glad he was at least giving something in exchange. If it was some spirit that needed appeasement, at least he was doing his part.

The next day, all of the dishes were clean, as expected, but Chanyeol’s cold had gotten far worse. His head felt as if someone had turned his brains to mush and his throat as if someone had rubbed it raw with sandpaper. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t swallow, couldn’t even stand straight without the world tipping sideways. He decided to call in sick for a few days and was eternally grateful for whichever mysterious force that was cleaning his apartment. His head spun so much he couldn’t imagine doing dishes or anything else with his head throbbing like this.

“BANG! BANG! BANG!* The deafening sound of someone knocking on his door rang out through the apartment. It could only be his friends, no one else was that obnoxious. He had told them again and again not to knock that hard but they never listened. Chanyeol put a hand to his head, as the ringing of the metal only served to amplify the ringing in his head. 

“I’m coming!” He said, voice congested by his cold. He grumbled as he made his way to the door, holding the wall to keep steady. He barely noticed the fact that his bag had been moved carefully to the side so he didn't accidentally trip on it. He breathed a sigh of relief–falling face first into his front door was the last thing he needed.

His relief was short lived when he nearly tripped on the old broom from the closet, which had somehow ended up lying in the entryway. It was fortunate the door was close enough that he could brace himself on it to keep from getting injured.

Cursing, he picked up the broom up and placed it back in the closet before wrenching the door open. Knowing exactly who was beyond the door he didn't need pleasantries. “How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to bang on the door. It’s made of metal, you only need to tap it,” Chanyeol said nasally to his friends who were waiting on the other side.

Before Chanyeol had the chance to say anything else, Jongdae held up the bags in his hands and said, “No, no, we bought stuff for your cold, please don’t kick us out!”

Chanyeol squinted at them. Sehun was nodding along with Jongdae in a way that convinced Chanyeol that he had actually contributed to this show of goodwill. He couldn’t very well turn them away now, so he left the door open for them and walked inside, collapsing on the couch and leaving them to let themselves in.

Jongdae and Sehun tiptoed down the hallway behind him and looked around to examine the clean apartment around them.

“Man, you haven’t figured out who’s doing all of this?” Jongdae said, amazed by how well organized the shelves were. He leaned forward and wiped a finger along the wood to check for dust only to find none.

“No,” Chanyeol said from beneath the arm he had thrown across his face, miserable because his friends and their curiosity were annoying on top of his cold. “Honestly, I don’t care anymore, so long as I don’t have to do it, I’m good.”

Sehun sat down on Chanyeol’s legs until he moved them. Through the gap between his arm and his face Chanyeol caught him wearing a thoughtful expression, lips jutted out into a pout. “Could it really be some kind of ghost?”

A loud scraping sound filled the apartment and Chanyeol removed his arm from his face to watch Jongdae sit on the chair he’d brought over. “Ghosts don’t exist Sehun,” he said, settling down, “it’s probably something else. Since it hasn't done anything harmful I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“You sure none of you are doing this?” Chanyeol asked one last time. None of his friends had been over in weeks so it wasn't even a real possibility, but his thoughts were incoherent enough that he didn’t want to rule it out completely.

“Nope,” Jongdae said with heavy emphasis on the “p”. “But we did get you these.” Jongdae held out a bag of cold medicine, bottles of sports drinks, and sources of vitamin C. “Kyungsoo even made you some soup!” He chirped, pulling out a plastic container with instructions taped to the top.

“Gee thanks,” Chanyeol said, his genuine appreciation more apparent in his tone than his words. He wasn’t in the mood to be eloquent.

“You owe us,” Sehun said before Jongdae smacked him on the back of the head on Chanyeol’s behalf.

Chanyeol felt a little bad when he had to force them out ten minutes later on account of the pounding in his head, but not bad enough to consider letting them stay longer. He saw them eyeing his gaming system and his delicious Kyungsoo-made soup supply.

–

Despite all efforts to stay healthy–he had taken his medicine, drank enough fluids, gone to bed early, everything he could think of–his cold was even worse the following day. He was rendered completely useless and bedridden, huddled under a pile of blankets to quell the chills that ran through him whenever he moved.

After a near-disastrous trip to the bathroom, Chanyeol learned very fast that he wasn’t going to be able to spend much time out of bed. Not long after that, Chanyeol realized he had downed all of the drinks he had placed beside him the night before and he was left hungry and thirsty, but unable to safely make it to the kitchen. He considered calling someone to help but it was too late and he was on the verge of sleep. In the end, he just laid there, suffering, until he fell into a restless sleep.

A few hours later, he finally regained some semblance of consciousness and started looking around for the water that he vaguely remembered was not there for him to find…Except that it was. His hand circled around a cool glass that sat on his nightstand, filled to the brim with clear water and dripping with condensation. Cold medicine had been placed on a small plate beside it, along with a steaming cup of tea to soothe his throat.

Chanyeol was so desperate for any kind of relief that he quickly knocked back the medicine with some of the water, enjoying the feeling of the cool liquid as it made its way down his parched throat. He took a few greedy sips before he turned his attention to the tea, which he carefully sipped until his throat felt considerably less tight and strained. He sighed with relief and leaned back against his pillows, feeling considerably more comfortable.

His peace didn’t last long. Now that he could think clearly, he had time to process the fact that someone had provided him with all of these things without his knowing. He was well aware that something else was here besides himself, there was no other explanation he could think of for everything that was happening, but he was once again hit with the terror that came with such an idea. Sure, his invisible housemate was probably friendly considering it endured doing all of his cleaning, but he hadn’t fully accepted its existence yet. Now he was being forced to. There was no way anyone else could have possibly entered when he had the only keys.

In hindsight, he probably should have been more cautious about the water and the medicine, but since he wasn’t dying from anything besides his cold, he figured he could drop it until he was well again. He was desperate for relief from his cold and he wasn’t in a position to be picky.

When he next woke, Chanyeol’s head was still heavy and his nose was still very congestions. He knew he was seconds from falling asleep again, he just needed a bit of water to cool down his throat. Before he could reach for his glass, which he noted had been refilled, he was hit with a series of coughs that rattled in his chest.

Once he was done, he reached greedily for the water only to pause with his hand two centimetres from the glass. His mouth dropped in surprise and it took all he had not to shout, if his throat would even let him.

Before him sat a man…or at least it  _ looked _ like a man, with a halo of short, white hair on his head. He had an ethereal beauty to him that had Chanyeol wondering if hallucinations are a symptom of the common cold. The man had a youthful face that gave no hint of age, lovely almond-shaped eyes, and small, but sturdy frame. He wore simple but traditional clothing with an old fashioned hat hanging from his neck on a string.

The man had been in the middle of squeezing a rag in a bowl of cool water that was probably being used to lower Chanyeol’s fever, when he realized Chanyeol was awake and watching his every move. A started look flashed across his face, followed by a reassuring smile that warmed Chanyeol up more than any of the blankets currently piled on top of him.

Chanyeol felt a sense of loss when the smile vanished from the man’s face, replaced with a calm mask as he resumed his task. When Chanyeol opened his mouth to speak, he held a cool finger to Chanyeol’s lips to silence him and then proceeded to help him drink a fresh cup of tea with more medication. When that was done, he helped Chanyeol settle against the pillows once more so he could drift off again.

“Who–?” Chanyeol asked hoarsely.

The man just chuckled–a wonderful sound that was gone all too soon. “Don’t worry about that just now, sleep Chanyeol.” The man’s voice was as lovely as he was and Chanyeol felt himself nodding off against his will. He knew this person must be the one taking care of his apartment but he couldn’t find the words to voice the endless stream of questions flowing through his mind.

The last thing he saw before he nodded off was the man giving him a soft, unguarded smile as he watched over him. Chanyeol made a resolution to figure out just who or what he was before he dropped into unconsciousness.

–

Knowing that the man living in his house was benevolent made Chanyeol marginally less fearful about all the strange occurrences around his apartment. Instead, it felt like having a very considerate roommate that was never around. It was a large step up from his time living with Sehun back in college.

Of course, now that he had seen whoever was living in his house, he felt compelled to see him again and get answers to the hundreds of questions that bubbled in his mind whenever he thought about the subject. Chanyeol was, regretfully, too busy to actively hunt for him with all of the work he was behind on, but he did his best to interact with him in whatever way he could. 

The first thing Chanyeol did was write a note giving the man permission to use any of Chanyeol’s possessions as he saw fit. Chanyeol had no way of knowing if any of his things were being used beyond just being cleaned, but he felt giving express permission would be a nice gesture. Soon after, he realized volumes of his One Piece collection would occasionally go missing, only to turn up in their rightful place soon after with the next volume in line gone. Chanyeol was also more generous with the food he set out, which was always consumed and the dishes washed.

For two weeks this continued, with Chanyeol making use of a school holiday to do an in-depth investigation of his house. Ghosts certainly couldn’t take care of a sick person, so he could say with some certainty that the man was not a ghost. Cracking his fingers, he opened up his laptop and began to search for supernatural beings that might fit his very specific criteria. 

His search was, to put it bluntly, futile. There were so many possible things it could be from demons to dokkaebi to fox spirits to faeries. He spent hours comparing what he knew about his housemates with every description on the internet to no avail. Nothing seemed to fit perfectly and he felt as if he was going in circles. Eventually he was forced to give up, closing his laptop and rubbing his eyes.

In the meantime, Chanyeol looked high and low for a chance to spot him. It frustrated him enough that he wound up telling his friends the entire story the next time they gathered for drinks. 

Chanyeol hadn’t expected much from his friends in terms of reactions and was not disappointed. He explained the incident that had occurred when he was sick in great deal and was met with general skepticism and concern for his sanity. He expected no less.

“Seriously dude, this is really fucking weird. You sure you didn't just dream him into existence,” Sehun said, trying to keep his voice from wavering. He liked to pretend he was less fearful than he was, but Chanyeol had seen him in a haunted house before and knew better.

“I can’t just dream someone wiping away my sweat and then finding the cloth on my forehead once I woke up,” Chanyeol said.

“Sehun move over,” Jongdae whined as he slid back into the booth with their drinks. “This is all very suspicious, these supernatural things don’t exist. You were probably having a hallucination or something.”

“It doesn’t explain the food or the manga,” Kyungsoo said from beside Chanyeol, proving he was, indeed, paying attention and not simply staring out the window.

“Chanyeol loses things all the time, and his building is old enough to have things crawling about,” Jongdae said, adamant that nothing strange was going on.

“Please don’t mention creepy bugs,” Sehun said. Chanyeol could see him pull his legs up unconsciously as soon as Jongdae brought them up. Chanyeol had to keep himself from doing the same. He was glad he hadn’t seen any so far.

“You can’t explain how the dishes washed themselves or how everything is clean without me doing anything,” Chanyeol said, turning around to face Jongdae.

Jongdae merely shrugged. “I’m just saying, there’s very little proof that any such thing exists in the first place.”

“I think the evidence is pretty sound,” Kyungsoo said, “But I also think you shouldn’t worry too much about it if they mean you no harm.”

After five minutes of arguing, they all more or less agreed with Kyungsoo’s conclusion, even if Jongdae did so only conditionally. Chanyeol then decided to let the subject drop, even though he still felt a burning need to figure this out once and for all.

  
  


–

Chanyeol finally succeeded in seeing his elusive roommate when he came rushing home during a sudden downpour. Without an umbrella, he was forced to use his bag to keep the rain from getting into his face as he raced towards his apartment, leaping over puddles and around dripping piles of garbage bags. He was tempted to veer into a cafe or some other store to wait until it was over, but he remembered he’d left his laundry out to dry and he didn’t want to waste precious money on water by having to wash them all over again.

After an exhausting scramble up the staircase to his apartment, during which he hit his head several times, he finally reached the floor he lived on. For a moment he struggled to catch his breath and felt his head up to check how bad he might have bruised his forehead. When he eventually remembered he still had laundry to bring in he spun over to his drying rack only for something large and black come flying forward, smashing into his face.

Chanyeol spluttered as he removed what looked like a large black hat, the kind they used in traditional clothing. It was the kind of hat he had seen hanging from the neck of his elusive roommate. He looked up and over at the clothing line, hope causing his heart to leap into his throat.

_ Found him, _ Chanyeol thought as he watched the white-haired man scramble to take down the laundry Chanyeol had hung up earlier that day. He was so frantic to get everything inside that he hadn’t noticed Chanyeol was watching until Chanyeol’s nose committed an act of total betrayal by causing him to sneeze.

The man looked up in alarm, dark eyes wide as they met Chanyeol’s.

“You-“ Chanyeol started to say before the person darted forward and snatched the hat from his loose grip. One moment later he was pulling down the hat onto his head and the next he was gone; he had disappeared right before Chanyeol’s eyes.

Chanyeol frowned deeply. He was glad to have figured out why he was never able to spot him, but he’d been robbed of another chance to try and speak to him.

Even as he thought that, the man reappeared considerably farther away. “Thanks for catching my hat, Chanyeol,” he said with a grin. “Your laundry is safe, by the way, just be sure to dry it a bit inside.” He then put his hat on again and disappeared.

Chanyeol stood there gaping, rain pouring down on his head, as he tried to process what he has just experienced. He tried to reconcile the man he’d seen in what could be considered a fever dream, and the person who had just disappeared before his eyes. The white hair and cat-like eyes were definitely the same, as were his old-fashioned clothes. Still, he had appeared and disappeared so quickly this time he could have just as well imagined him again.

When Chanyeol entered his apartment he realized that he had no need to hang up his laundry again himself. All of his garments were hanging neatly on his folding drying rack he used during the winter. There was no way he could have imagined the laundry being taken down and organized so neatly, so that meant all of this must be reality; he had some otherworldly being living in his house. And he was hot.

–

After his brief encounter with his otherworldly housemate, Chanyeol began going out of his way to try to spot and/or lure him out into the open. He continued to leave things out for him, pretended to sleep to catch him at work during the night, came home at irregular times in order to throw him off guard, but nothing he did was successful. He was almost ready to give up on ever getting closer to him. It seemed clear that he didn’t want to be seen.

Chanyeol pressed down the final chord on the piano, ending his practice for the day–he needed to keep his skills up if he was going to teach young children who had a tendency to laugh at every mistake. It was the day after he’d decided to give up on his roommate due to the fact that he was behind on work and because it seemed futile. At least attempting to keep up with his students was productive.

Satisfied, he turned the power off and gathered his notes on the pieces he was supposed to teach. He then left the room to put them away in his briefcase, which he left by the door so he wouldn’t forget it (again). He rifled through the papers as he walked, checking if anything was missing before he put them away in their usual worn-down folder. He didn’t notice anything was amiss until he turned towards the kitchen for dinner.

Chayeol stopped in his tracks, eyes widening. Sitting at his kitchen table, as if he belonged there, was the mysterious, clearly inhuman man he’d been trying so hard to lure out. Chanyeol had spent weeks trying to catch even a glimpse of him doing any one of Chanyeol’s chores with no success, yet here he was, casually reading one of Chanyeol’s One Piece volumes in plain daylight. He had that same unearthly beauty Chanyeol had been so enchanted by and was undoubtedly the same person the source of all the happenings around his house.

Unsure what to do, Chanyeol coughed to announce his presence.

The…whatever he was because Chanyeol still didn’t know, looked up and flashed Chanyeol a toothy smile. “You’re done practicing? I was hoping you’d play for a little longer.”

Chanyeol could only open and close his mouth. He didn’t really know what to say or do, now that the incredibly attractive, usually invisible resident sat out here in the open, actually talking to him. He realized too late that he should have thought about what to say to him once he did actually manage to find him.

“Chanyeol?” The man asked, the look of mirth on his face dimming as his brows creased with concern.

Chanyeol swallowed. He must look like a confused mess right now so he made himself answer. “I was done practice for today. I can play for you later if you want.”

“You know, I thought about what to do after you saw me without my hat,” the man said, carefully bookmarking the manga volume. “I was going to appear suddenly before you for a laugh, but I didn’t want you fainting. You look a little pale right now, so I’m guessing I made the right choice.”

“Who are you?” Chanyeol asked once he finally found his voice. Getting that question out was hard enough while under the man’s full attention, let alone the hundreds more he had racing through his mind.

The other man flashed a smile, “My name is Minseok, but I’m sure you want to know what I am even more than my name, no?”

Chanyeol could only nod, it was true after all.

“I’m not entirely sure how to explain it myself,” Minseok admitted. “Suffice to say that I reside in the old broom in the closet by the door. You can call me a  _ dokkaebi _ , which is probably the closest term, but I’m not all that fussy about labels–we live in a modern world after all, and you humans tend to get quite a bit wrong regarding the supernatural.”

“So,” Chanyeol said slowly, “you live in a broom?”

Minseok laughed. “So that’s what you chose to question first? Yes, I do live in that broom and I have for longer than I can remember.”

“If humans are so wrong, what is it that you do?” Chaneyeol asked. He knew a bit about  _ dokkaebi _ from one of his classes at school, but Minseok didn’t seem to fit the bill.

Minseok shrugged, “I just clean, play a few tricks, and throw a curse here and there. I’m great at fighting and games if you’re into that. You know, the usual supernatural being jazz.” His eyes were carefully trained on Chanyeol to gage his reaction, which was general interest.

“Nobody else has lived here in a while and it’s been nice having so much to do,” he continued, “This is my place as much as it is your, you really don’t want to know what will happen if you try kicking me out. Just think of me as your supernatural, invisible, potentially dangerous roommate who is conveniently willing to do all of the cleaning.” Minseok finished with a smile. 

The threat beneath all of the pleasantries hung very heavy between them. Minseok wasn’t going anywhere, and Chanyeol would be stupid to try and change that. Not that he planned to anyway.

“R-right,” Chanyeol said by means of response. “So, why are you showing yourself now?”

“Well, I was going to play with you for a bit longer, but since you kept losing sleep trying to see me I figured I might as well show myself,” Minseok explained. “I don’t usually appear to humans but you’re pretty cute…and no one has been sweet enough to offer something as thanks, not in decades.”

Chanyeol blushed at the compliment, causing Minseok’s warm smile to widen. 

Minseok continued, “Anyway, until now I haven't had all that much to do, so I was very glad when such a cute, disorganized person, with great taste in manga, moved in. The last tenant was awful and I haven’t lived with someone this thoughtful in centuries.”

“Centuries?!”

Minseok scoffed, “Chanyeol, I'm a mythical being, of course I’ve been around for a while.”

Chanyeol just looked at Minseok, trying to sort through the irrationality of it all. Minseok was obviously not human in a lot of ways, it was apparent just by looking at him, but in others he seemed surprisingly human–for a goblin. He certainly didn’t appear as if he was centuries old, he had a youthful energy that grew whenever he laughed.

“On to more important matters,” Minseok said, eyes shining, “Can I use your TV, I’m years behind on One Piece because I haven’t been able to sneak in a few hours with a TV and I want to catch up.”

Chanyeol blinked once, twice. Whatever he had braced himself for, it was not that. He couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing at the request, and the absurdity of this entire situation. None of this felt real and Minseok’s last request was the last straw. All he could do was laugh until he could pull himself together and rearrange his entire worldview.

With Minseok looking at him expectantly, eyeing the TV every so often, Chanyeol finally managed to collect himself enough to tell Minseok he could use the TV any time he wanted. Not long after that, he found himself sitting with Minseok to rewatch the Water 7 arc. He didn’t even question it when Minseok walked into the kitchen and then came back with popcorn to share. He wasn’t even sure he had any popcorn.

Chanyeol’s eyes flitted between the anime blaring on the screen and Minseok’s face. He was enraptured by the tv and paid no mind to Chanyeol’s gaze. Chanyeol was grateful because he really didn’t want to be caught staring, even if he couldn’t help being drawn to Minseok. It was so strange to be sitting beside the  _ dokkaebi _ he apparently lived with, but at the same time, it felt so natural, so comfortable. Minseok  _ had  _ been there with him the entire time he had lived there and Chanyeol had become oddly at ease with his roommate beforehand, he was just visible now.

–

Chanyeol eventually grew completely used to having Minseok around, visible or not. Having solid answers to his endless questions made his life so much more peaceful. It helped that living with Minseok meant that he didn’t have to clean nearly as much, even if he did have to do more of the cooking. And deal with the consequences if he wasn’t quite up to Minseok’s standards, which were very high. Worse was the fact that he could now bully Chanyeol into doing it right.

Chanyeol was never irritated for long, or so he liked to think. He had been living alone for so long, he’d forgotten how nice it was just having someone else around. It was when more people came around that problems started to arise.

“So, did you end up figuring out who your ‘ghost’ is?” Sehun asked from the couch. He had walked into Chanyeol’s apartment unannounced and draped himself on the sofa, stealing a bag of chips from the kitchen in the process.

Chanyeol didn’t even know the door was open as he stood, mouth open, barbed words on his tongue, watching his friend make himself at home. Minseok, who had been cleaning the stove top in the kitchen, laughed before he disappeared from sight.

Minseok had instructed Chanyeol to keep his existence secret, since knowledge of the supernatural tended to have unpredictable results. He didn’t have to worry about Chanyeol spilling his secret, since he was doing a generally poor job at laying low whenever people were over.

Before he’d revealed himself, Minseok had pulled pranks on Chanyeol now and then, even going so far as to retell them later so Chanyeol was aware of the extent to which he had been humiliated. Now that everything was out in the open, Minseok had turned things up a notch, especially since Chanyeol was fully aware of what was going on, but could say nothing about it. It was completely frustrating just as Minseok’s glee was incredibly cute.

At the moment, Chanyeol was having a hard time coming up with an answer to Sehun’s question, or, at the very least, a semi-feasible lie.

“I figured, since it hasn’t meant any harm from the beginning, I might as well just let it be,” Chanyeol lied, just as he felt Minseok’s fingers on his shoulder. He shivered. He felt the chair dip as Minseok draped himself on the arm of the chair, leaning against Chanyeol heavily enough that Chanyeol had to shift to accommodate him. He felt Minseok’s heat through both of their shirts and could focus on little else.

Minseok was always doing this sort of thing whenever anyone came over and Chanyeol couldn’t do anything to stop him. From the pizza man, to his mother, to his friends–no matter who it was, he had to endure the  _ dokkaebi’s _ particular brand of torture with a straight face. 

It started subtly, but Minseok was getting bolder and Chanyeol was finding it harder not to react. Whenever he managed to get Minseok to bugger off, he would often find himself regretting it later. If he didn’t love Minseok’s mischievous smile so much, he would have already had an intervention. If he still wanted one.

Sehun squinted at him, “I don’t think you’re telling us everything, I think you have figured it out and just won’t tell anyone.”

He hit the nail on the hammer. Chanyeol grit his teeth, trying to come up with a better lie. Minseok took this opportunity to blow in Chanyeol’s ear, causing him to shiver and scowl.

“What happened?” Sehun asked, confused.

“Nothing, just a chill,” Chanyeol said, hitting Minseok’s surprisingly muscular thigh in retaliation when Sehun turned away to take a sip of his drink.

Chanyeol composed himself. “Anyway, I promise I haven’t figured it out. You think I wouldn’t tell all of you if I did? I’m just going to leave it for now and appreciate the fact that someone else is cleaning the bathroom.”

Minseok cupped his cheek with a warm hand in thanks for the complement and Chanyeol felt his face heat in a way that had nothing to do with how warm Minseok’s hands were.

“I still think it’s weird,” Sehun said, “but if you get possessed or something that’s your loss.”

“Shut up and pick up a controller,” Chanyeol said, tossing a PS4 controller towards Sehun to end the conversation. He knew if he distracted Sehun, Minseok could get back to his work and not bother Chanyeol.

That, of course, didn’t happen because Minseok thought torturing Chanyeol was far more interesting than the grime on the stove. He sat beside Chanyeol the entire time he and Sehun played and was responsible for nearly all of Chanyeol’s mistakes as he whispered advice directly into Chanyeol’s ear, which was more distracting than it was helpful.

–

Life with Minseok fell into a sort of pattern. Minseok still cleaned quietly, Chanyeol still made music and practiced for his lessons, and they both existed in a certain kind of harmony that had always been there, even when Minseok had been invisible. They coexisted comfortably most of the time, sharing the space as they always had. Chanyeol no longer felt lonely, and he was extremely grateful to Minseok for that.

Minseok enjoyed being able to share the space openly as well. He hated having to clean quickly so he could hide from Chanyeol. This way, he could be as infuriatingly thorough as he pleased. He also made use of Chanyeol’s TV for a great many things aside from his ongoing One Piece Marathon. He was particularly fond of dramas, dragging Chanyeol down to watch with him on occasion, and they’d both end up crying at the sad scenes after getting too invested in the plot.

Some things broke the pattern in a way that Chanyeol could neither predict nor do anything about. As peaceful as his life was becoming, Minseok had a nasty habit of doing things that would send his world spinning sideways. His incessant flirting was killing Chanyeol. He had no idea what to do with these advances, or what they even meant. Was he supposed to give into the whims of a  _ dokkaebi _ who had lived for centuries? He was still brushing everything off, but he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to do that. He dreaded actually  _ asking _ about it, but at this rate he might have to.

Chanyeol put those thoughts to the back of his mind as he always did with things he didn’t want to deal with. He could address it later–it wasn’t too much quite yet.

–

Chanyeol’s hands skimmed the keys of the piano, drawing out a pretty, delicate melody under Minseok’s watchful eye. Chanyeol could feel himself blushing yet again with all of the attention. He had to focus intently on whatever he was doing, lose himself in the music, just to escape the feeling of having Minseok’s eyes on him. When the song was over, it was like a spell had broken and things returned to normal, or as normal as they could ever be.

Minseok, it turned out, loved music and encouraged Chanyeol to play whenever he could. He would even sing along if he knew the song, and if he didn’t, he’d ask Chanyeol to teach it to him.

“You’re a great teacher,” Minseok said suddenly while Chanyeol's was trying to teach him a more recent song that he had heard on the radio that morning.

“It is my job after all,” Chanyeol said, choosing another tab in the browser on his tablet. It was propped up on his keyboard’s music stand so he could look at the chords while he played.

Minseok hummed, “No it’s something else, you’re so enthusiastic about it all that it makes people want to learn more. You draw people in.”

“Like you?” Chanyeol said. He wasn't being serious, but his breath caught when he saw the fond expression on Minseok’s face.

“Exactly,” Minseok said. “It takes great skill to win over a  _ dokkaebi _ so easily _ . _ ” He moved ever so subtly closer to Chanyeol until they were almost touching, but not quite.

Chanyeol stilled, keeping himself from leaning in and filling the gap. This was dangerous. His thoughts were a conflicted mess as his ration fought with overwhelming desire. He forced himself to focus on something else.

“Then I guess I should be honoured. Shall we move onto another song?” Chanyeol asked, his voice tight. He could  _ feel _ the heat of Minseok’s body through the gap.

Minseok only nodded, an innocent smile on his face.

Chanyeol pulled up another song and got ready to play. He felt Minseok shift beside him and he assumed it was so he could read the lyrics. He assumed wrong, of course he did. By the end of the song, Minseok was leaning full against Chanyeol. He sang along with the music quietly, far too close to Chanyeol’s ear for comfort.

Every part of his body that came in contact with Minseok’s felt like it was on fire. He was struggling to even read what chord he should be playing, let alone sing while doing it. He only managed a couple more bards before Minseok’s breath was hot on his neck, still singing despite the fact that Chanyeol had stopped playing.

“Thank you for playing that one,” Minseok said when Chanyeol took his hands, shaking slightly, from the keys. There was something strange behind his smile, something Chanyeol couldn’t quite read. The air between them had changed oh so slightly since Chanyeol had started playing.

Chanyeol swallowed and averted his eyes from Minseok’s gaze. “It was no problem, I taught it to the kids a few months ago. It’s a favourite of mine.”

“Mine too, you play it well,” Minseok said, turning to face Chanyeol. “I’m going to give you a present in return. If you don’t like it, feel free to ask for something else, but I’ll be sad if you don’t.”

When Minseok’s cat-like eyes, so beautiful and expressive, met Chanyeol’s, he saw they were full of emotions that he had never seen before. It was an entirely different Minseok he was looking at, one that made his stomach flip. A warm hand came up to cup Chanyeol’s jaw firmly, as if to make sure his wouldn’t run away from his gift. There was no need to worry though, Chanyeol wasn’t planning on going anywhere and simply closed his eyes.

When Minseok’s lips pressed against Chanyeol’s, it was as if all of the unresolved tension that had been growing between them finally popped. The kiss was deliberate, sweet, and careful, quite unlike any of Minseok’s other advances. It felt like the inevitable next step in their relationship.

When Chanyeol moved in to reciprocate the kiss, to press his own lips forwards against Minseok’s soft, warm ones, something went wrong. First they were kissing, Minseok taking control and pulling at Chanyeol’s hair to bring him in closer, then Minseok was pulling away. He returned his hat to his head and disappeared from sight, not letting Chanyeol read his expression.

Chanyeol was left alone and confused, the taste of Minseok still on his lips. He was so sure all of the flirting was real…right? He realized he didn’t even know Minseok well enough to understand exactly what was going on and why he had suddenly backed away after sending so many mixed signals. Chanyeol was aware that he wanted more, what he wanted to know was if Minseok did.

–

Chanyeol got his wish several days later when he was getting a little spring cleaning done–as much as Minseok helped with the housework, he couldn’t do everything for Chanyeol. They didn’t know each other well enough yet for Minseok to be able to properly clean out Chanyeol’s belongings and sort through the ones he didn’t need anymore.

As he looked around for more things to get rid of, Chanyeol wound up opening the closet that contained Minseok’s broom. He had no idea why exactly Minseok had left him there in the music room, but Chanyeol wanted to make things up to him if he could. He hated not talking at all, it was terribly lonely. Staring at the broom that supposedly housed the  _ dokkaebi _ , he had an idea.

Reaching for his coat, his wallet, and his keys, Chanyeol made sure Minseok was otherwise occupied before he left to act upon his plans. Minseok hadn’t changed many of his habits since they stopped talking, so Chanyeol knew he was watching the drama he had probably taped the night before. That would keep him busy for a while. Chanyeol messed up his bookshelf just in case, because fixing it would take the rest of the day if Minseok was as meticulous as he usual.

Once he was certain he could leave freely, under the excuse of getting food, he hurtled down the stairs and to the nearest hardware store. It took a while, but he managed to gather everything he needed in order to make the broom, look good as new.

Chanyeol couldn’t take the broom out of the apartment, that much he knew, especially without Minseok knowing. Instead, he decided to get to work in the entryway of the apartment. Checking to see if Minseok had any reaction when he picked up the broom. If he felt anything he didn’t show it, so Chanyeol took that as a go ahead. He had experience restoring wood and polishing from his job at the bowling alley and hours spent with his grandfather in the country, so he was pretty confident he could do this right.

It took a while to get things done, even when he worked as fast as he could. He managed to clean and polish the handle until it looked new. He also trimmed and straightened the bristles at the bottom, replacing the bands with snug new ones. He left the strange symbols at the top of the handle alone because they likely had something to do with Minseok.

Chanyeol was lucky it took Minseok twice as long to fix his bookshelf, giving him time to make sure he’d done his job properly and perfect a few loose ends.

When Chenyeol blew off a bit of dust that had fallen on the now-shiny handle, he felt a presence behind him. Minseok was standing above him, completely visible and unmoving. His face was blank and his hands were outstretched in a silent request that Chanyeol quickly answered by standing and placing the broom in the hands of its owner.

“You cleaned my broom,” Minseok said, his voice even. His face was unreadable as he examined Chanyeol’s handiwork. He turned the broom around in his hands and ran them up and down the now-smooth length. His eyes never rose to meet Chanyeol’s, nor did he show any emotion. He had no idea what Minseok was thinking, whether or not he was pleased or upset. Anxiety bubbled in his stomach.

“Do you like it?” Chanyeol asked, finally giving in to his worry that he had somehow displeased the  _ dokkaebi _ .

Minseok whipped his head up so fast he nearly hit Chanyeol’s chin, forcing him to step back to get out of the way. He managed to glance downwards to see that Minseok’s eyes were heady, and dark as they gazed up at him; he looked for all the world like a very satisfied cat. Chanyeol swallowed. “I do,” Minseok purred, moving closer. “This is the best present I’ve ever been given.”

Chanyeol swallowed. He watched as Minseok carefully put the broom aside so that there was no longer anything standing between them. “Is that so?” Chanyeol said, his voice an octave higher than normal. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Mm,” Minseok hummed, moving even closer.

Chanyeol’s body buzzed with anticipation, the memory of Minseok’s warm skin, his firm muscles, pressed against Chanyeol’s own was all too familiar. He craved that closeness, missed it more than he thought he had. He was looking at Minseok as if in a spell, hands slightly outstretched as his body moved to make the decision for him. He licked his lips, looked from Minseok’s face down to his hips, where Chanyeol imagined his hands would soon be, fingers pressed into the skin.

Minseok raised an eyebrow and all at once Chanyeol felt the blood rush to his face. His hands clenched at his sides. He made to step backwards so he could think properly, so he could not do something completely stupid like pulling Minseok in tight, hands splayed across the muscles that rippled across his back, and kissing his pretty lips until he couldn’t feel his own.

He didn’t get the chance to finish those thoughts, or to act on them. One stray shoe sent him tumbling backwards and into the metal door behind him. Chanyeol tried to grip Minseok’s arms in an effort to steady himself but it was in vain.

The moment Chanyeol began to fall, Minseok snapped out of his own spell. He wrung his hands once before his face was set with determination in a sequence Chanyeol could barely remember. The next thing he knew, Minseok’s hands were on his head, one running through his hair to protect his head from the metal of the door, and the other on his chin to steady it and guide Chanyeol’s mouth towards his own.

They crashed together against the door in a mass of limbs, rattling Chanyeol’s bones and knocking the wind from him. He groaned, trying to move with Minseok pressed against him until he was satisfied nothing was broken. Only then did he given in to Minseok, who had been impatiently pulling at his hair, trying to make him lower his face.

The second Chanyeol brought his face back to meet Minseok’s, the  _ dokkaebi’ _ s lips, gone during the crash, were once again on his. Minseok wasn’t in the mood for patience, his lips sliding against Chanyeol’s hungry, and insistent. He pressed his body flush against Chanyeol’s just as his hands wove in Chanyeol’s dark hair to pull him close and keep him there.

It was all Chanyeol could do to keep up, giving himself freely to Minseok. He allowed himself to wrap his arms around Minseok, as he’d been itching to do. He breathed in and took in Minseok’s comforting scent akin to fresh laundry, finally relaxing properly into Minseok’s arms. 

A strong thigh was nudging his legs apart, hip pressing hard against his growing hardness. Chanyeol could feel himself trembling with need as his arousal grew in waves, once Minseok started to grind forward and upward. Chanyeol’s eyes fluttered closed and opened his mouth to moan. Like a cat ready to pounce, Minseok took the opportunity to lick into Chanyeol’s mouth, tongue sliding along Chanyeol’s own. Chanyeol couldn’t pull back even if he wanted to, as Minseok’s hands combed through his hair and kept their lips together as if he never wanted them to part. 

There was nothing between them but the clothes on their backs, which was still too much as far as Chanyeol was concerned. He could feel Minseok’s muscles through his shirt starting from the abs that lined his abdomen and onward from there. When he reached Minseok’s back, he dug his fingers deep into the rippling muscles he found there, massaging them just enough to cause Minseok to press forward into him, inhaling deeply through his nose. It wasn’t enough though, he desperately wanted Minseok’s skin bare against his skin. Minseok seemed to feel the same as his hands drew lines of fire along the skin just above Chanyeol’s waistband. Chanyeol’s hips bucked unconsciously only to be pressed down harder. He hissed but it went unnoticed.

Heat began to pool low in his abdomen the more Minseok moved his hip against Chanyeol’s arousal and he shifted so that he was at a more comfortable angle. His movement didn’t go unnoticed as Minseok pulled back with a smirk. It was all Chanyeol could do to keep a straight face and refrain from shifting his body any further.

Minseok said nothing. Instead, he pressed his lips against Chanyeol’s neck, soft and gentle before he began sucking hard to leave a blossoming mark. “Ah,” Chanyeol hissed at the sudden pain but soon relaxed as Minseok’s hands slid down to his shoulders, soothing him. Chanyeol gave in to him and allowed him to make his way down Chanyeol’s neck.

Chanyeol squirmed as it became too much, and Minseok let out a breath that was close to a laugh before returning to Chanyeol’s mouth, mischief dancing in his eyes. Chanyeol opened his mouth to say something but Minseok only took the opportunity to deepen the kiss again and push him further against the door. He grabbed Chanyeol’s hand when he attempted to wrap it around Minseok’s neck and pinned it to the door. He sucked hard on Chanyeol’s lip, drawing out a moan, before leaning back.

“Thank you Chanyeol,” Minseok said, he wasn’t even winded. He did look happier than Chanyeol had ever seen him, and that had heat rushing towards Chanyeol’s cheeks.

“It was no trouble, I knew what to do and I figured it needed some cleaning up.”

Minseok shook his head. “I can’t do anything to it myself, and no one has ever thought to do something like this, not even…well that doesn’t matter. You’re the first.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Chanyeol struggled to say, despite the way his tongue seemed to have tied itself in knots in the face of Minseok’s sparkling gratitude.

Minseok leaned forward to kiss him again. “I love it. I thought, since you liked this so much the last time that I’d thank you the same way.” He smirked at that.

“I don’t mind,” Chanyeol said stiffly.

“Then would you mind if I thanked you a little more thoroughly?” Minseok said, leaning forward and deliberately sliding a hand up the inseam of Chanyeol’s jeans.

Chanyeol couldn’t even answer that with words. He shook his head violently even as his body arched into Minseok’s touch.

“Good.” Minseok didn’t say anything else. He just took Chanyeol’s hand in his and pushed him towards the bedroom.

Chanyeol’s thoughts were a garbled mess, no matter what Minseok had planned he was in no way ready for it. His body ached for Minseok’s touch once more, propelling him forward like a magnet. To feel his touch again, to taste him against his lips, Chanyeol had been reduced to a few base needs after one simple kiss.

Just before they reached the bed, Minseok stopped him. Strong fingers were undoing his belt, making quick work of it, and then undoing his jeans. A rush of cool air hit him as his underwear and jeans were pulled down as one and he was suddenly falling backwards into the bed as they were pulled off his legs and thrown aside.

Chanyeol pushed himself up to look at Minseok, who winked at him and then turned his attention to Chanyeol’s cock. 

“Minseok you don’t have to…” Chanyeol said, his voice squeaky and faint. He could feel heat pooling lower as his body tensed with anticipation. His cock was growing heavy under Minseok’s unwavering glance and he couldn’t bring himself to put any serious effort into stopping him. He was already long past that, he needed to quench the fire that was his desire.

“It’s a return gift,” Minseok said, wrapping his fingers around the base of Chanyeol’s cock, giving him some relief. “Surely you don’t want me to stop now.” He gave Chanyeol’s cock one pump, two pumps, before stopping. Minseok’s hands were rough without lube, but his very touch was heat itself. His cock grew thicker as if to fill his hand even more and Chanyeol moaned and pushed his hips forward, needy and wanting more. He wanted Minseok’s pretty mouth around his cock more than anything, there was nothing else he could do to try and convince himself otherwise. 

Chanyeol merely grunted and shook his head. He could feel himself straining against Minseok’s tight grip and there was very little keeping him from moving for whatever friction he could get.

“Thought not,” Minseok said before lowering his mouth so that it was level with Chanyeol’s cock. 

Chanyeol’s breath hitched just before Minseok licked at the head of his’s cock, when he felt the heat of Minseok’s breath in the cold air. Minseok smiled at that and then proceeded to truly undo Chanyeol piece by piece.

Chanyeol had little time to react as Minseok’s tongue swirled around the head of his cock, hot and wet and gone all too fast. He licked long stripes along Chanyeol’s length, pumping slowly with his hand. From the shaft Minseok went to Chanyeol’s balls and back so he could lick along the vein along the shaft. 

Chanyeol took a deep breath and clenched the fabric of his bed watching his cock harden, curling upwards under Minseok’s ministrations. Precum had started to gather at the head, dripping down oh so slowly. Chanyeol started squirming as he felt the pressure of his oncoming orgasm start to gather.

Minseok looked up at him for a moment and returned to the head to lap up the precum before it fell, but he never did more than use his tongue. When it was clear Minseok intended to tease him more, Chanyeol grunted. Minseok rolled his eyes.

“Minseok,” he tried weakly.

“Mmm,” Minseok merely hummed.

Minseok didn’t give any warning when he finally took Chanyeol into his mouth, enveloping his length until Chanyeol’s cock was pressed against the back of his throat. Chanyeol cried out and tried not to move so he didn’t choke the other. He bit his hand in an effort to keep from moving even as Minseok pulled back, his tongue pressing along the underside of his cock and his lips dragging as he sucked hard. Then he did it again. And again.

Chanyeol was seconds from coming and Minseok new it from the way he smiled as he sucked on the head of Chanyeol’s cock, his tongue pressing into the sensitive spot beneath.

It was too much, Chanyeol was coming in Minseok’s mouth over and over as Minseok swallowed it all. He used his hand to help Chanyeol through the rest of his orgasm.

Chest heaving, Chanyeol looked down at Minseok, who was wiping his mouth with satisfaction. “I…” he began, not knowing what exactly he wanted to say.

“I take it that was good,” Minseok laughed.

Chanyeol nodded dumbly.

“I’m glad,” he said with a smile. “I have things to finish, but I really do appreciate what you did for my broom.”

Minseok didn’t say anything more than that. He simply left the room, Chanyeol watching him go, still lying half-clothed on the bed.

Chanyeol was so utterly confused that he didn’t know where to begin. Minseok had just sucked him off out of gratitude and then whisked off as if it was nothing. It had also been quite possibly the hottest thing that had ever happened to him and he would kill for it to happen again, though he felt a little weird that it was out of some sort of equivalent exchange system of gratitude. He decided to push it aside for now until he was ready to process it.

–

The more time he spent with Minseok, the more dangerous the feelings that had started to bloom in Chanyeol’s chest became…or rather, the feelings that Chanyeol had finally acknowledged were blooming. More dangerous than that was the fact that he wasn’t entirely sure if said feelings were this overpowering because  _ he _ liked Minseok or because his dick did.

Minseok was back to being flirty, like he had been from the start, when he was messing with Chanyeol while invisible. More than flirty, Minseok had only continued his new method of showering Chanyeol with kisses and sexual favours as rewards. As much as Chanyeol loved and appreciated it, he was also utterly confused. He didn’t want to threaten their dynamics now that they were on good terms, but he also wanted to know what was going on.

The “reward” game eventually escalated to a ridiculous level. It started getting bad when Chanyeol began playing music for him as he cleaned, which ended with Chanyeol spread along the piano bench with Minseok sucking bruises down his chest and legs as he went down the piano. When Chanyeol bought Minseok a copy of his favourite drama he ate out Chanyeol on the couch and pleasured him until he cried. In the end, Chanyeol wasn’t entirely sure if he was developing real feelings for the  _ dokkaebi _ , or if it was entirely physical. 

It eventually got to the point that he started staying away from home on purpose to get a break from trying to understand his own feelings. Being around Minseok felt like being dragged under a spell where he couldn’t think about anyone or anything else. His touch, his taste, his smell, they all haunted Chanyeol even while he slept on Jongdae’s dingy sofa. He kept having to remind himself that Minseok was a supernatural being who lived in a broom in his closet and that there was no realistic way this could work.

Going between his friends’ houses wasn’t a plan that was going to work for long. His friends didn’t take too kindly to him crashing on their couch for a reason he couldn’t entirely explain. They also didn’t get it when he kept acting like he’d broken up with someone but wouldn’t explain literally anything. He needed a new plan.

The last time he had been home, Minseok was nowhere to be found. Because of that Chanyeol him a letter as a last-ditch effort to get some sort of straight answer. A straight answer to a question he was too cowardly to ask to his face. It just made him feel more miserable, but at least he could get some closure if Minseok just turned him down after reading it and he could move somewhere else.

–

Jongdae threw one of Chanyeol’s socks in his face, knocking him from his thoughts. “Chanyeol, if you don’t get out of my apartment by tomorrow I’m throwing all of your things out in the rain. I went to your building yesterday and there was no construction going on.”

“Jongdae, please, I can’t go back there yet. Just give me one more day,” Chanyeol begged.

Jongdae stood firm. “Look, I’m a considerate person Chanyeol, but I have a boyfriend and I can hardly ask him over for sex with my friend sleeping on my couch.”

“I can wear earplugs.”

“What if I told you how many times we did it on that sofa there?” Jongdae said, knowing he’d won by the way Chanyeol leapt off the sofa immediately.

“Now go home and sort out whatever love issue you have. Don’t pretend it isn’t a love thing, you’ve been moaning someone’s name in the shower ever since you got here.”

Chanyeol paled, he thought no one had been home.

“That’s right, so go fix it or I’m going to drag Baekhyun over here tonight so you can hear everything we do for hours on end.”

Chanyeol decided he wasn’t going to try and imagine whatever  _ that _ was, so he said, “Fine, fine, I'll go. Just don’t blame me if I’m homeless tomorrow.”

Jongdae gave him a puzzled look, but closed the door promptly once Chanyeol was out of his apartment.

When Chanyeol reached his own home, he took a deep breath before he opened the door. He’d been exaggerating when he spoke to Jongdae about being homeless, but he was fairly certain he didn’t want to continue living with Minseok after he made a fool of himself by running away, then confessing via letter and running away again. Not to mention the fact that he had challenged Minseok to a fight for his right to court him. Which was completely ridiculous and embarrassing he wanted to bury his head in a pile of sand. Why had he even paid attention to stupid folklore traditions that might not even be true?

Upon entering the apartment, Chanyeol noticed that there were no signs of life anywhere. The place was absolutely spotless, but Minseok was nowhere to be found. He wanted to let out a sigh of relief, grab some things, and leave again, but he knew he had to deal with this sooner rather than later.

“Minseok?” Chanyeol called, venturing further into the apartment. He got no response. “Come on, I just want to talk. If I win the fight…challenge thing can we talk?”

Chanyeol repeated himself as he walked through the rooms. He figured speaking to the broom might have been a better option, but this somehow felt less strange than talking to an inanimate object.

“You really mean that,” Minseok said from behind him. Chanyeol jumped but turned to look sheepishly at Minseok, who was standing by the kitchen, hand on his hip. He looked unimpressed. Unimpressed and more gorgeous than Chanyeol remembered.

“I do,” he said firmly. “I also wanted to know if you thought about what I wrote in my letter?” Chanyeol asked, bracing himself for the worst. He was prepared to lose it all in this game, subjecting himself to Minseok’s whims.

Minseok stepped forward, crossing his arms instead. “I’ve thought about what you asked, of course.”

“Right, and?”

Minseok kept his unwavering, ageless stare on him. He looked both young and centuries old at the same time; he looked like the  _ dokkaebi _ he was, the  _ dokkaebi  _ Chanyeol had challenged in order to earn forgiveness, in order to get permission to be together with. Just like that, a smile twisted on Minseok’s face and the atmosphere bloomed with warmth, literally.

“And?” The tension was making Chanyeol antsy. He needed to know if he still had a chance. “Please tell me, I can’t take it.”

“I’m not sure I will now, you’re very impatient. Challenges are serious business.” Minseok turned and made his way to the kitchen, effectively ending the conversation.

Chanyeol stood up to follow him, only to find that he had disappeared.

Chanyeol was stuck, frozen in place. He didn’t know what to do or say to figure out what he needed. He wanted Minseok around, he didn’t even mind being subjected to whatever Minseok wanted to do to him at that moment. He was so caught up in his thoughts he jumped out of his skin when a finger tapped on his shoulder. He spun around to find himself face to face with Minseok.

“You’re very jumpy,” Minseok mused. He was far too close and Chanyeol felt his ears heating up. They’d been this close so many times before but the moment was charged by his questions in a way moments between them had never been.

“Shut up,” Chanyeol said, brows furrowing.

Minseok laughed and moved closer. “So you want to play one of my games, eh?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“It’s only fair, you’ve been playing games with me for months,” Chanyeol said, edging away from Minseok.

Minseok laughed, loud and hard. “They weren’t games, I really do like you Chanyeol. You’re just not very good at saying what you want.”

“You didn’t say anything either!” he pointed out.

“You’re allowed to read between the lines Chanyeol, I don’t eat people out just because I feel like it.”

“Excuse me for not having experience with otherworldly beings who think actions are words,” Chanyeol snapped.

“Fine. So I take it you want experience now? I won’t go easy on you,” Minseok said, looking like he was trying to hide a laugh for some reason.

“How do we do this?” Chanyeol asked, stepping closer and looking to Minseok for some kind of explanation.

Minseok beamed at him, taking a huge step forward before Chanyeol had any time to react. “Like this,” he said simply before sweeping his foot to knock Chanyeol down to the floor and maneuvering himself so that Chanyeol all but fell on top of him.

Minseok made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a grunt. “Looks like you won.”

“Looks like you cheated.” Chanyeol said, standing and helping Minseok back on his feet. He couldn’t find it in him to be mad though, not when Minseok had very clearly indicated that he had no intention of letting Chanyeol go any time soon.

“Surely you don’t mind,” Minseok said with a raised brow, helping Chanyeol rearrange his clothes.

“I’m not above turning a blind eye, but it looks like you’re stuck with me now,” he said, leaning in to kiss Minseok briefly.

When he pulled back he saw a light blush tinting Minseok’s cheeks. “Lucky you, I’m not sure what I’d do without you to clean up after. Besides, we have some catching up to do, you were gone a little too long for my liking.”

“Did you miss me?” Chanyeol asked, a teasing lilt to his voice as he leaned down to look Minseok in the face.

“Keep that up and I’ll forget why I was sad you were gone,” Minseok quipped.

Chanyeol pulled Minseok in closer, hands on his upper arms. “I’ll just have to make it up to you again,” Chanyeol said, before he kissed Minseok again, this time keeping Minseok in his embrace.

“Don’t think that’ll work every time,” Minseok mused between lazy kisses. 

For a while they stood like that, just kissing each other in contentment. At some point, when Chanyeol complained that his neck was hurting from having to bend over, Minseok pushed him onto the couch and sat on top of him so they could continue.

“So, Chanyeol,” Minseok murmured, sliding Chanyeol’s t-shirt up so he could place it neatly on the couch beside him.

Chanyeol’s mind went blank for a moment as Minseok’s mouth found his exposed nipple and began to suck. “Ngh…yeah.”

Minseok looked up, “Is this really where you want to leave it tonight?” When he said really, he made a point to grope Chanyeol’s cock through his pants, making him choke. “I have a lot of other ideas in mind.”

“What do those ideas involve?” Chanyeol said, trying to keep it together. It was hard to keep a clear head when your lover keeps playing with your nipples as you try to speak.

“Less clothes, more dicks, your bed, some lube…” Minseok ticked off.

“Sold.” Chanyeol didn’t wait for more; he was done with teasing. He picked Minseok up on his own, waited until his legs were wrapped securely around his waist, and carried him to the bedroom.

Neither of them wasted any time shucking all of their clothes. Chanyeol, having finished first, went over to the drawer to pull out his bottle of lube. When he turned around he got his first look at Minseok completely naked since they had started their thing.

Chanyeol traced Minseok’s muscles with his eyes, hands itching to do the same. They were even more spectacular than what his clothes hinted at. His skin was as light as his hair and looked smooth to the touch. When he turned around Chanyeol caught sight of Minseok’s hardening cock, longer and thicker than he had expected. Imagining being filled to the brim with  _ that _ stirred something in him and he tossed the bottle on the bed before he pushed Minseok down with it.

“Oof Chanyeol wha-” Minsoek started before Chanyeol’s mouth was on his, kissing him deeply, trying to convey how much he wanted him.

Minseok arranged himself comfortably within the cage of Chanyeol’s body and kissed him back with the same eagerness. Encouraged, Chanyeol moved from Minseok’s mouth to his neck and let the hands Minseok had woven into his hair guide him as he made his way down Minseok’s chest, enjoying his revenge as he made Minseok arch beneath him by sucking one nipple and squeezing all at once. He didn’t stop there.

From the corded muscle covering Minseok’s stomach, Chanyeol moved to the tender skin on the inside of Minseok’s thighs. Each side in turn he marked with bruises, purpling what had been an expanse of perfect skin. It was only then he turned his attention to Minseok’s cock, half-hard and growing still. Chanyeol wrapped one hand around the base, watching as Minseok’s muscles tensed at the contact.

“Chanyeol wait,” Minseok said, his voice strained.

Chanyeol looked up at him through his lashes and asked, “Just a bit?”

Minseok huffed and fell back onto the bed, giving his unspoken consent. Chanyeol took it gratefully and wrapped his mouth around the head of Minseok’s cock. He licked around the head, sucking lightly and tonguing the slit in a teasing way that had Minseok kicking him lightly. He proceeded to take Minseok’s full length into his mouth all at once, as far as he could take. He slid back and forth, his tongue pressing into the underside as he sucked.

Once Minseok’s cock was truly full, straining against the ring he’d made with his hand and no longer pliant under his tongue, Chanyeol sat back to observe his handiwork. Even after licking it off, the taste still on his tong, more precum beaded at the head as Minseok’d cock throbbed with need.

Minseok himself was lying down, an arm across his face. “You done yet?” he asked Chanyeol, clearly trying to look unaffected.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol said hoarsely.

“Good.”

Before he knew it, Chanyeol was now pinned under Minseok, who was now sitting between his knees, holding the bottle of lube. Quickly Chanyeol reached for a pillow to put behind his head so he could see Minseok properly as he opened the bottle and started to warm the lube.

Surprising Chanyeol, Minseok crawled up to give him a quick and dirty kiss before he began.

“I’m starting,” Minseok said, one finger at Chanyeol’s entrance and the other on Chanyeol’s knee.

It didn’t take long before Minseok was three fingers deep, letting Chanyeol fuck himself on his fingers. In the time it had taken to be stretched, coupled with how fond Minseok was of brushing his prostate just right, Chanyeol’s own cock was full and arching up against his stomach, a pool of precum beneath it.

“Just get to it,” Chanyeol choked.

Minseok was happy to oblige. He positioned himself near Chanyeol’s entrance and pushed inwards, using Chanyeol’s legs as leverage. In and out he pushed until Chanyeol started to get used to his girth. Then, all at once, Minseok thrust inward as far as he could go, until he was fully sheathed and Chanyeol was more full than he’d ever been before. Once he stopped seeing stars, he looked down to where they were connected, Minseok’s hip pressing into his skin, and back up at Minseok, who looked one part pleased with himself and one part completely wrecked.

After that Minseok picked up the pace and Chanyeol raised his hips to meet him. Faster and deeper until Chanyeol couldn’t take it anymore. Judging by the erratic way Minseok was beginning to move, he was probably close too. He had a brief thought that it was amusing how surprisingly human he was in this circumstance before he was coming untouched with Minseok doing the same inside him.

–

When they were both cleaned up and lying in bed, spent and exhausted, Chanyeol asked, “So you’re here to stay?”

Minseok rolled over so that they were face to face. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“I came back didn’t I?”

“Oh go to bed Chanyeol, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Not even with your invisible hat?”

“Not even with my invisible hat.”

Chanyeol helt his eyelids grow heavy with Minseok humming a sweet tune beside him. He resisted the urge to run his hand through Minseok’s soft hair, he could do that later, any time he wanted. He smiled and, just as he was about to drift off, he met Minseok’s eyes and caught the quirk of a smile in return before everything went black.

**–**

Eventually Chanyeol told his friends about Minseok with mixed results. Sehun was still a little weirded out, and Kyungsoo was grateful someone was around to take care of Chanyeol, as if he was some kind of pet. He was mildly worried that Jongdae might one day sweep Minseok off his feet and was even more worried when Baekhyun decided he was all about that too. Minseok just laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek, saying they could only have him for one weekend a month.

The two of them fell into a new pattern that involved a lot more discussion and more sex in general, though not always at the most convenient times.

A few months into their relationship, Chanyeol was sitting on the sofa reviewing materials for his lessons next week. The students were learning more advanced music theory and he wanted to make sure it was easy for them to understand. He startled when Minseok gently pushed the papers away and sat himself on Chanyeol’s lap.

“What are you doing,” Chanyeol asked, one hand reaching for his papers and the other resting on Minseok’s hip.

“I don’t know Chanyeol, I feel like that question is a little redundant considering you and I both know I’ve got one of the best seats in the house.” Minseok shifted a little to emphasize his point while holding the papers even farther out of Chanyeol’s grip.

“So what  _ do _ you want?” Chanyeol sighed.

Minseok just kissed him slow and sweet.

“Ahn, you make a good point,” Chanyeol said when they broke apart.

Minseok smiled, “I always do.”

“But I have work to do.”

“You need a break, Chanyeol.”

“Breaks don’t involve sweat,” Chanyeol said, trying to get Minseok off his lap. If he didn’t do it sooner, it would never happen.

“How very closed minded of you. I wonder if I could change your mind,” Minseok said, carefully putting down Chanyeol’s papers and pulling him towards the bedroom. “It’ll just take a minute.”

“Ahhh, okay, okay, fine. I might be persuaded, if you make your lesson quick.”

Minseok gave him a wolfish grin that Chanyeol matched and they let the door close with a click.

**Author's Note:**

> ** My Twitter [daejakyu](https://twitter.com/daejakyu)  
** My [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/daejakyu)


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